There is a difference between getting comfortable and achieving a comfort level, a small distinction that Calgary Flames defenceman Dougie Hamilton fully comprehends.

After joining the Flames in a much-scrutinized 2015 trade with the Boston Bruins, Hamilton knows he can never get truly comfortable – not when he’s on the ice anyway. He and his defence partner with the Flames, Mark Giordano, nightly face the NHL’s top forwards. To effectively defend against the likes of Connor McDavid, Ryan Getzlaf or Anze Kopitar, you need to be alert and on your game in every moment. Otherwise, they can make you look bad.

But after struggling with the adjustment to Calgary in the first half of his first season, Hamilton has settled in nicely to life in the Stampede City. It is no coincidence that once things clicked into place for Hamilton off the ice, the level of his play improved on the ice as well.